Sanitary Sewer Repairs CEQA & Permitting
City of Santa Clara
Redtail Consulting has been assisting the City of Santa Clara and design engineer Mott MacDonald with repairs to the City of Santa Clara sanitary sewer system since 2018.
In 2018, based on routine condition assessments, the City engaged in a program to repair defects at 70 locations Citywide. Our first task was to assess constraints at the repair sites and identify the appropriate level of CEQA review and regulatory permit needs for each of the projects. Most of the repairs qualified as CEQA-exempt; we prepared a Notice of Exemption for those projects, along with an IS/MND for the remaining sites where CEQA review was needed.
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Environmental screening also included extensive informal dialogue with USACE, DFW, and RWQCB staff to clarify agency stances on the use of cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining and infiltration grouting within jurisdictional limits. Following initial dialogue with the agencies, we prepared USACE, DFW, and RWQCB permit application packages for repairs at a site along the lower Guadalupe River, which supports native anadromous fishes and offers habitat for numerous protected bird species. This was the only site where it was not possible to avoid regulatory permit triggers through design and construction approach.
All work proceeded on an aggressive timeline in order to satisfy the requirements of a 2013 Settlement Agreement with Northern California River Watch. Permits were received in less than 2 months from application submittal due to substantial early agency dialogue, and construction began in fall 2019, with the Redtail team providing preconstruction surveys, sensitive habitat exclusion measures, worker awareness training, and construction monitoring to implement CEQA mitigation and permit conditions.
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We have continued to assist with CEQA and other regulatory needs under a second contract to address the City’s upcoming repair projects. Work under this second contract has included
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Photos courtesy of Vollmar Natural Lands Consulting